Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the thought of tackling a million tasks at once that you become paralyzed in fear and decide to do nothing at all?
Feeling burdened is a normal response to tough circumstances, as is the case for people trying to find a job, buying a new house, struggling to pay bills, getting divorced, dealing with death — or all of the above.
Even everyday life situations can make us feel overwhelmed. Things we can’t control make us feel overwhelmed, too. There’s a variety of psychological reasons we get caught up in worrying.
But there are ways to find motivation even when you become consumed by life, so you don’t have to feel that you need to juggle everything at once or, oppositely, sit around contemplating what your next move is going to be.
Focus On The Now
This doesn’t necessarily mean live in the moment. It means only do what you can do today. What needs to be done today and what can wait until tomorrow? If you need to make a simple list, do it as a visual reminder to yourself. When you prioritize your to-do list into bite-sized tasks, it can seem less daunting. Maybe you need to pay your electric bill today. Maybe you need to go grocery shopping, but it can wait until tomorrow. Maybe you don’t need to go to that party at all. Maybe you can delegate responsibilities at work to perfectly capable people, so that you have one less thing on your plate. Urgent matters come first, the rest can be scheduled for a different time or ditched all together. Not everything is a fire that you need to put out immediately.
Feel Your Feelings
That may sound like a corny statement, but if you allow yourself to just feel what you need to feel in that given moment, do it. We sometimes instinctively resist and push worries and thoughts out of our heads, only to see them surface again and again. Identify the exact feeling, confront it by being honest with yourself, acknowledge whatever your feeling, accept it, and then release it. The feeling will probably come up again, but it will already be familiar to you and you’ll know what to do.
Be Kind to Yourself
Allow yourself to have a bad day or two without beating yourself up about it. For sensitive people who are hard on themselves this is difficult to do. Every setback you encounter is an opportunity to grow. The best views sometimes come after the hardest climbs as they say. What seems overwhelming at the time, won’t seem so bad when it’s behind you. In fact, you’ll probably feel empowered and wonder why you were so panicked in the first place. Accepting your humanness and showing compassion for yourself is a sign of high emotional intelligence. It’s also an important part of moving forward.
Cut Down on Drinking
Motivation definitely doesn’t come from a bottle of booze. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but all you’re doing is numbing the pain only to have it resurface again once you’re sober. Alcohol interferes with one’s ability to reason and think rationally. The cycle of numbing out, followed by poor judgment, then self loathing is on repeat until you change your coping mechanism.
Don’t Stop Exercising
The first thing to go when you’re feeling stressed is likely exercise. It’s counterintuitive, though. It’s well known that a good dose of cardio — even just shaking your booty with your friends — is mentally and physically beneficial. Endorphins released from exercise boost your mood and help you relax from feelings of being overwhelmed.
When we consciously process what’s going on to make us feel so overwhelmed, and understand what clear steps need to be taken in order to feel less stressed, we will strive to improve and achieve excellence. Isn’t that what motivation is?
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